1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container which also serves the purpose of dispensing products, generally of cosmetic or pharmaceutic type, in the form of a solidified stick-shaped material, such as deodorants or lipsticks, or viscous fluid, such as creme, gel, adhesives or the like. The container is of a type comprising a driving member, such as a stick holder or a pressing piston, moved in a rotational and sliding movement by a spiral cam upon a relative rotation of two relatively rotatable bodies of the container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Containers of this general type are well known in the prior art, representatives of which are containers for lipsticks and stick shaped deodorants.
The containers of the prior art exteriorly show three pieces, a first piece which is the base of the container, on the upper portion of which a cap is inserted forming the second piece, and on the lower portion of which a driving knob is rotatably engaged as a third piece. Upon rotating the knob in one or the other direction with respect to the first base piece, the product is made to project from or retract into the container.
The containers of the prior art thus show on their exterior two coupling planes, one between cap and base and the other between base and knob. Moreover, with the container of the prior art it is possible to turn the knob even with the cap closed, which represents a disadvantage because of the interference between the product and the cap.
It is not conceivable to use a conventional container of this type for fluid products.
By fluid products, products in the form of creme, gel, milk, paste or adhesive and the like are intended.
By solidified stick-shaped products, products, particularly cosmetics, are intended which are poured in a fluid form into the container and there solidified. Typical representatives are lipsticks.
These products frequently also contain ingredients of volatile nature. This raises problems of stability of the product in the container.
The above mentioned conventional containers for stick products comprise a stick holder which is threadedly engaged with a rod integral with the control piece, and sliding within the base piece. To prevent a rotation of the driving piece from rigidly draging the stick holder also into rotation, one or more radial splines are usually provided on the inner surface of the base piece for forcing the stick holder in the axial direction of the container, for its correct rotating and sliding movement.
The presence of splines is frequently detrimental to the external appearance of the product.
In fact it has to be taken into consideration that the problem of the external aspect, particularly in cosmetic products, is of basic commercial importance in this field. Apparently insignificant improvements in this direction could be of a great commercial interest.
Resuming the problems inherent to a container for serving the above indicated purposes, two orders of problems have to be taken into consideration: practical problems and aesthetic problems.
From a practical point of view a conentional container of the above mentioned type cannot conceivably contain a fluid substance and even less can it conserve the volatile ingredients contained in the product. In fact the fluid substance would leak through the coupling gap between driving knob and base piece. This gap is also detrimental to the conservation of volatile ingredients.
Moreover, as hereinbefore illustrated, the driving knob remains accessible at any time, even when the cap is closed, so that an inadvertant rotation of the knob would lead the product to impact against the cap.
A further disadvantage of a practical order is that the control of the knob normally requires the use of both hands, one for holding the base and the other one for turning the knob.
From the aesthetic point of view the conventional containers show the disadvantage that the stick product shows grooves corresponding to the radial splines.
As illustrated hereinbefore, the two coupling planes are decidedly disadvantageous, and moreover the outer and the inner surface of the container do not easily afford any other possibility of shape, apart from the circular cross-section.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,560 a stick container is illustrated. This container, however; does not solve the problems involved in the containment and dispensing of viscous fluid products and of solid products free from unaesthetic grooves.
In FIGS. 5 and 10 of the above cited U.S. Pat. No. it can be seen, in fact, that cartridge 12 is provided with inner ridges 25 to ensure the extracting movement of piston 14. Furthermore, from a structural point of view, rod 13 in the cited patent is correctly mounted integral with the container 11, only when cartridge 12 is assembled in turn into the container. In cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,560 there is no teaching that rod 13 has to be built integral or made structurally integral with container 11 in order to obtain the advantages of axial and radial sealing according to the present invention.
Furthermore in the cited patent there is no teaching to eliminate ridges 25 and at the same time obtain the extracting movement of the piston and the tight sealing enabling fluid products to be contained.